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As many of you are aware, there are changes coming to the RCM marking system in Australia. Today (March 1, 2013) AS/NZS 4417.2:2012 comes into effect. AS/NZS 4417.2 is the standard which specifies the requirements of the RCM mark and its placement on electrical and electronic products. In this latest edition, the classification of electrical products has changed from a system of non-declared and declared articles into a 3 tier risk classification, where level 3 is the highest risk and level 1 is the lowest risk. There are different requirements for each level of risk. Please note that the company registering for RCM has to be based in either Australia or New Zealand. This means that overseas manufacturers are not able to register for RCM. The importer in Australia or New Zealand must register for RCM and will be known as the “Responsible Supplier”. We suggest you get in touch with your importer and make sure they are familiar with the new regulations.
The EESS is the new regulatory system which is designed to be used with the RCM mark. At this stage only Queensland has the legislation in place for the new system (from today March 1, 2013) and New South Wales has declared they will not be using the new system. We are not certain when the other States and territories will be introducing the legislation. There is substantial uncertainty about how the new system will work out for importers, but there is no cause for concern. For the high risk items, you will still need an SAA certificate and we are working with ERAC to ensure we can upload the certificate details to the national RCM database. This will enable your importer to register the high risk items and there is a transition period to ensure they have time to do so. It does not require any action from overseas certificate holders or manufacturers or laboratories.
We are sure you will have a lot of questions about the EESS and the new RCM system. Remember, the SAA certificate will be required as normal. The RCM system has been changed and has shifted the responsibility to the importer. The importer will be responsible for paying the new system fees and ensuring the product is correctly tested and marked, but they will need the SAA certificate from you, exactly as they do now. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will try and answer as best as I can.[:]
SAA Approvals is accredited by the Joint Accreditation Service of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) as a third party certification body to issue certificates for electrical equipment that has proven to comply with the safety requirements of the applicable Australian Standard.
SAA Approvals is accepted and gazetted by the New South Wales Fair Trading as a Recognised External Approvals Scheme (REAS) and Queensland Electrical Safety Office as a Recognised External Certification Scheme (RECS).
The General Manager
SAA Approvals Pty Ltd
PO Box 189
Cannon Hill QLD 4170
AUSTRALIA